Giorgio Armani Movies
- 2007
A man trying to run away from a personal tragedy finds out the hard way how much one of his best friends has changed in this action drama. In 2003, Lau Ching-hei (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Bong (Takeshi Kaneshiro) are a pair of police detectives who are both partners and close pals. While Bong respects Lau's abilities as a detective, he's wary of his friend's uncertain temper, and he has enough problems of his own to deal with after the suicide of his long-time girlfriend. Three years later, Bong has left the force to become a private investigator and has developed a serious drinking problem, while Lau is one of the top detectives with the Hong Kong police and has married Susan (Xu Jinglei), a respected reporter. Susan and Lau approach Bong and ask him for help with a case -- Susan's father Chow (Yueh Hua) was murdered, and while the team investigating the crime has found two of the men responsible, a third culprit is still at large. Bong agrees to help, but what he and Susan don't know is that Lau is the missing man who helped kill Chow, and he's playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse with his fellow police officers as well as his best friend. Also featuring Shu Qi, Emme Wong and Chapman To, Seung Sing (aka Confession Of Pain) was directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak and written by Mak and Felix Chong, the same team responsible for the international hit Infernal Affairs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, (more)
The son of Italian-American parents who had a strong pride in their national heritage, filmmaker Martin Scorsese grew up watching Italian films with his family, and while he contends that the American cinema was always the most important to him, he also has many powerful memories of the classic period of the Italian cinema (the early '40s to the late '60s). A companion piece to his earlier documentary series A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, Il Mio Viaggio In Italia offers Scorsese's perspective on Italian film of the past, chronicling the influence and impact it had on him, as well as the rest of the world. From historical epics like Cabiria (1914) and Fabiola (1949) through neo-realist masterpieces such as Roma, Città Aperta (1945) and Ladri di Biciclette (1948) to the masterworks of Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, and Michelangelo Antonioni, Scorsese offers a knowledgeable take on Italian filmmaking, offering background on the artists who made the films as well as a perspective on what made these films so special (analyzing their importance both as art and as social and political documents of their place and time). Il Mio Viaggio In Italia was originally produced as a series for Italian television and given a special screening at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival; Scorsese announced at the time that he planned a companion film that would follow his interest in Italian cinema up to the present, investigating a number of lesser-known filmmakers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
This beautiful if ponderous soufflé of a film from director Bernardo Bertolucci serves more as an Italian travelogue than a drama. Liv Tyler stars as Lucy Harmon, an American teenager arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to visit family friends residing there. Lucy visited four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with a handsome boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted. Lucy's mother has committed suicide since then, and the teenager also hopes to discover the identity of her father, whom her mother hinted was a resident of the villa. Once she arrives, Lucy meets a variety of eccentric visitors, including a dying gay playwright (Jeremy Irons), a sculptor (Donal McCann), an entertainment lawyer (D.W. Moffet), and several others. Lucy has decided to lose her virginity and becomes an object of intense interest to the men of the household, but the suitor she finally selects is not the initial object of her affection. Stealing Beauty boasted an intriguing parallel between actress Tyler's role and her real life. The daughter of a famed rock and roll star, she was brought up believing that her father was someone else, a fact that Bertolucci may have had in mind when writing the story. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Tyler, Sinéad Cusack, (more)
A computer virus endows Solo (Diego Abatantuono), the hero of a virtual reality game, with human consciousness, thereby creating all kinds of headaches for his creator Jimi (Christopher Lambert). The trouble begins in the futuristic metropolis of Northern Agglomerate three days before Christmas. With little time left, video-game designer Jimi has no choice but to give his newest game, "Nirvana," to his powerful bosses. Unfortunately, the virus strikes just before the deadline. At first Solo doesn't know he is a graphic image, but when he finds out, he fervently pleads with Jimi to destroy every existent copy of the game so that he will not have to live the same sequence of events over and over for eternity. Jimi, vulnerable after the mysterious and sudden disappearance of his lover Lisa (Emmanuelle Seigner), agrees to honor Solo's wishes, but is unable to simply erase the program because his every move, on and off the job, is monitored by a giant, Orwellian computer. He therefore takes off for the Arab quarter and enlists the aid of two hackers, Joystick (Sergio Rubini), an expert at sabotaging databases, and Naima (Stefania Rocca), a woman with the skills to destroy the prototype of the computer game. With the company's henchmen hot on their heels, the threesome set off on a colorful journey through real and virtual worlds to destroy Solo before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Diego Abatantuono, (more)
- 1995
- R
The world of high-fashion is explored in this documentary. Much of the film is centered on the professional life of American supermodel Christy Turlington as she travels around the world's fashion centers for photoshoots and runway gigs. The film also offers many glimpses of the glitterati that surround the fashion industry, including designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, and movie stars like Sharon Stone. Naturally the clothing itself also figures prominently. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christy Turlington
Jodie Foster made her directorial debut (with a script by Scott Frank) in this tale of a child prodigy's search for social acceptance. Fred Tate (Adam Hann-Byrd) is a precocious fourth grader who has no problem with the most complex mathematical problems or in banging out a Rachmaninoff concerto on the piano, but is totally inept at playing baseball or dealing with children his own age. His mother Dede (Jodie Foster) is a cocktail waitress who acts more like a child than Fred, but cares passionately about her son. Fred comes to the attention of child psychologist Jane Grierson (Dianne Wiest), who runs a summer camp for child prodigies called Odyssey of the Mind. She invites Fred to attend the summer session, creating a rift between Fred and Dede. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Adam Hann-Byrd, (more)
In this erotic thriller, a young English couple on vacation in Venice find themselves seduced by a mysterious older couple. Mary (Natasha Richardson) and Colin (Rupert Everett) have come to Italy to chart the future of their troubled relationship. They soon meet Robert (Christopher Walken), the enigmatic owner of a picturesque watering hole. He entertains them with copious vino and colorful stories of a childhood spent with a brutal, domineering father. Later, drunk and lost in the maze-like city, the couple once again encounter Robert, who puts them up at his gorgeous villa. They also meet his wife, Caroline (Helen Mirren), who suffers from crippling back pain and obvious emotional instability. Fascinated by the glamorous older couple but disturbed by their dysfunctions, Colin and Mary find themselves slowly drawn into sexual and emotional games that culminate in sudden violence. Directed by Paul Schrader, The Comfort of Strangers was adapted by playwright Harold Pinter from the novel by Ian McEwan. Richardson previously starred in Patty Hearst, Schrader's portrait of the newspaper heiress-turned-terrorist. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, (more)
- 1991
- R
Based on the Alberto Moravia novel, Husbands and Lovers examines a modern couple's untraditional open marriage. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Sands, Joanna Pacula, (more)
Robin Williams stars in this oddball comedy about a fast-talking car salesman who is down on his luck and in over his head until an extreme situation forces him to use his sales skills to save lives. Joey O'Brien (Williams) is the stereotypical car salesman: enterprising, aggressive, and desperate to make enough money to spend on his high-maintenance girlfriends. But suddenly the pressure is really on: he owes money to the mob, his ex-wife is nagging him about not spending enough time with their teenage daughter, and if he doesn't sell at least a dozen cars by the time the big sale is over on Saturday, he's going to lose his job. As Joey attempts to placate several potential buyers, his day is interrupted by Larry (Tim Robbins), the insanely jealous husband of dimwitted showroom receptionist Donna (Annabella Sciorra), who's been having an affair with someone who works at the dealership. With the police surrounding the place, his job (and life) on the line, Joey realizes that it's up to him to use his wits to persuade Larry -- who's not even sure what he wants out of the situation -- not to kill anyone. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, (more)
Declared "my most personal film" by Italy's premier horror director Dario Argento, this production marked the director's return to the eerie thematic territory he pioneered in 1977 with the horror classic Suspiria. Much like that film, Phenomena conforms to the logic of nightmares. Jennifer Connelly stars as Jennifer Corvino, the daughter of an American film star, who enrolls in a prestigious Swiss boarding school under the tutelage of the prudish Mrs. Bruckner (played by frequent Argento collaborator and former beau Daria Nicolodi). Possessing a unique telepathic gift, Jennifer is capable of communicating with insects on an instinctive level, often while sleepwalking. This trait soon brands her a "freak" among her snooty classmates but makes her a valuable asset to entomologist Dr. MacGregor (Donald Pleasence), who is currently employing the innate forensic skills of insects to aid police in tracking a serial killer targeting the boarders at Jennifer's school. As Jennifer's tiny friends (including the corpse-hunting Sarcophagus Fly) guide her closer to the murderer's lair, everything from MacGregor's revenge-driven pet chimpanzee to Bruckner's monstrously disfigured son figure into the mix, providing not one but three shocking endings. Shot in English and re-dubbed for various European markets, this graphic thriller was released in drastically edited form as Creepers in the U.S. and England; Argento's original cut runs 110 minutes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, (more)
- 1983
- R
This undistinguished drama goes no further than clichéd views about women who gain success by bedding down those who have it. Pia Zadora stars as Jerilee, just out of high school and married to a prominent Hollywood screenwriter, with her own heart-felt aspirations to get her screenplays noticed by the right producers. Her marriage fails for many reasons and once on her own, she comes to the difficult decision that she really will go nowhere fast unless she uses her sexual charms to pave the way to recognition -- and so she does, with a bit of revenge thrown in at the end for good measure. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, (more)
In Thief, James Caan plays Frank, a professional jewel thief who wants to marry Jessie (Tuesday Weld) and settle down into a normal life. In order to achieve his dream of a family, Frank--who is used to working solo--has to align himself with a crime boss named Leo (Robert Prosky), who will help him gain the money he needs to begin his domestic life. Frank plans to retire after the heist, yet he finds himself indebted to Leo and he struggles to break free. Thief is the first feature film from director Michael Mann and it seethes with his stylish, atmospheric direction. Though his cool approach may put off some viewers, it's a distinctive and effective story-telling approach, and Caan's performance ranks among his very best, making Thief a crime movie like few others. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Tuesday Weld, (more)
